


Chaos is come again

by howthemightyhavefallen (orphan_account)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: GALLIFREY’S BACK, Multi, unfortunately
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21748642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/howthemightyhavefallen
Summary: This is a dismal place, rotten to the core. It will remain so forever, and that is a terrifying thought.
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, The Doctor/River Song, The Doctor/The Master
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Forever is a long time

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [All The Games We Play](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5420945) by [Themadwomanwhoisunfortunatelylackingabox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themadwomanwhoisunfortunatelylackingabox/pseuds/Themadwomanwhoisunfortunatelylackingabox). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

It is cold in here, unsurprisingly, and there is nothing to do but wait. Wait for _it_. She runs a hand through her hair, and releases a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. It is _always_ cold in here.

* * *

She cannot remember how she got here, nor why she is here. The only thought she can hold onto is _don’t_. Don’t what? It’s a useless clue.

The outside world is irrelevant and barely substantial, no more than a figment of her imagination. Memories of the past are hazy, and occur in brief flashes. Mostly, it is like trying to hold onto fog. Pointless and insane. _Just like me_.

* * *

Five hours and thirty-two minutes she’s been running. This is a room with a window and a portrait. She sits on the bed and scowls. And then she laughs, because this is how it is.

_Just me and my waning sanity._

She wonders if it was ever there at all.

* * *

Jumping out the window is reckless and stupid. The whim of a lunatic. There’s no safer way out, but everyone knows by now that she won’t die. No guarantee of life, but she won’t die. That is not a reassuring thought.

She jumps out the tower before the creature can get her.

* * *

The bed of skulls surrounding her is strange, but by now nothing disturbs her like it used to. She drags herself out of the ocean before the urge to drown herself overcomes her.

* * *

The rooms have reconfigured themselves, and she is standing in a room with a shovel. A pile of soil covers part of the courtyard, so she clears it out.

 _Bird_.

Another useless clue to add to the list.


	2. Eternity’s curse

She finds Room 12, and it is a miserable place. The way out must be here - why else would the clues have led her here?

But all that can be seen is a few bits of machinery and a wall of -

 _There_ it is. The way out. Shame that it’s made of azbantium. Four hundred times harder than diamond, a material used only by the greatest and most powerful. The Daleks used it, in the Time War. Thankfully they only had minute quantities, otherwise they would have shattered the Time Lords and killed everyone else in the universe.

* * *

She hears the Veil coming, and it dawns upon her that the only way out is to shatter the azbantium wall, in the hope that some sort of exit lies behind. She is no fool - it will take years to make the slightest dent in the wall. But it’s a start, and she slams her fist into the wall with rising desperation as the Veil comes closer and closer -

And then she is kneeling on the floor, half-dead and _screaming_ in pain, but it doesn’t matter because she has a way out. She collapses with a sob, but there is hope, and that is all that matters.

* * *

She is resurrected, she finds Room 12, she punches the wall, she is killed. This process repeats itself for days, then weeks, then months, then years, centuries followed by millennia followed by millions followed by b i l l i o n s of years. The wall wears down, bit by bit, and she thinks she sees an exit. Finally.


	3. The Angels take my world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy loses Rory, and stops talking to the Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This skips back in time, all the way back to The Angels Take Manhattan. From here on it follows an alternative Series 7. This will continue until I reach Series 9.

“ _Rory!_ ”

She’s not sure who said that or if indeed anyone did - reality is blurring as tears and desperation fill her vision. The Doctor is horrified, but he will not lose Amy too. He holds her back when she tries to touch the statue, and he and River stare at the statue as if looking away would kill them. Amy tries to pull herself out of the Doctor’s grasp, but before she can free herself she is forced into the Tardis.

”Doctor, you can’t - you _can’t_ do this! I have the right to make my own decisions-”

”I’m not losing you too. I’ve lost so many people before, and I am _not_ going to lose you too.”

”Let me _go!_ ”

He sighs. “I’m sorry, Amy, I truly am. I’m just trying to protect you. This is for your own good.”

”I don’t give a damn what _you_ think! I _hate_ you! River, can’t you see he’s wrong?”

”He's right, Amy. In the long run, you are safer on the Tardis.”

That’s all it takes to stop her. If her own daughter won’t support her, what’s the point? She finally stops fighting back.

“We should go to bed,” River suggests. They all head off to their respective rooms in silence.

Hours later, Amy finally falls asleep. The whirlwind of events have passed, and there is nothing left worth doing. She pushes Rory to the back of her mind, with no intent of doing anything about him today.


	4. When you’re ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy prepares to talk to the Doctor again, but he is far more upset than she’d expected.

“Amy.”

The voice startles her out of her spiralling thoughts, and she sees River standing in doorway. She tries to speak, but her voice is raspy. Besides, what would she say? “I’m sorry for your loss”?

River sits down on the edge of her bed, uninvited. Amy thinks about throwing her out, but then she’d have _no-one_ to talk to. She pushes River away when she tries to come closer, though. Contact is not what she needs right now.

”Are you going to talk to me? I know you’re mad at me, but-” River begins.

“Fuck off.” She’s surprised at the harshness in her words. Even in the worst of circumstances, she rarely talks to people like this. River seems just as distant as she is, physically close but mentally miles away.

”The Doctor is as angry as you are. He won’t talk to me either. Silence won’t get you anywhere, Amy. Please, just _talk to me_.”

”Get out,” she says, with as much conviction as she can muster. River does leave eventually, but she doesn’t notice anything. Amy collapses, the little restraint she’d had giving out.

”I’m sorry, River,” she whispers, not that anyone will hear her. “I’m sorry.”


	5. Today’s the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy finally talks to the Doctor; Rory lands in the 1930s and starts rebuilding his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I made up Bringer of Night because it sounded cool

“Look who decided to join us,” the Doctor says, emotionless. Amy can’t tell how he’s feeling; he is a wall of ice, unforgiving and uncaring. Despite this, she decides to forge on with their conversation.

”Are you alright?” she asks tentatively. At first the Doctor seems deaf to her words, but eventually he responds.

”I suppose so. I’m not sure any of us are _alright_ , Amy. Have you seen yourself recently?”

For some reason his words make her angry.

“Nice to know you care, after not talking to me for a week!” She can’t control her emotions, and it shows.

”Maybe you should have come out and found me then! It’s not like you don’t know where I am!” he yells, at the end of his tether. He’s standing up now, fists clenched and eyes stony. His anger has got the better of him, and he is _terrifying_. This is the Oncoming Storm, the Valeyard, the Bringer of Night. Amy tries not to leave, to cower, to get _away_ from this monster. The Doctor recoils when he sees her horror, suddenly all too aware of why the universe fears him as well as loving him.

* * *

He hits the ground hard, and tastes blood - he must have cut his arm on the concrete. Rory looks around and brushes the dirt off his hands. He can’t remember why he’s here, but then a memory of the angel that had sent him back here flashes in his mind. And-

_Amy._

Where is she now? Is she safe? Has she come back after him? _No, no, don’t do that_ , he thinks. _You have your whole life ahead of you, don’t waste it on me._

”Y’alright, lad?” a passerby asks, shaking him out of his thoughts. “You look like ya hit the ground hard there. D’you need a hand up?”

”Y-yeah, that... that would help.” He’s still shaking from the shock of being sent back to the past. The man hauls him off the ground; he winces a little at the sudden movement. He nearly trips over trying to step forwards, and decides to lean on the stranger for now. Hobbling away from the busy street, he wonders what he’ll do. _Start from scratch, I suppose._ He panics slightly at the idea. Still, he’s got nothing else to do. This is a new opportunity, and not worth wasting. New York is all around him; this is his life now.


	6. Impossibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy meets Clara. Things don’t go well.

“Hello!” says a voice, from a place Amy can’t locate.   
  


“Lemme sleep for once, mate,” she mumbles. For a moment, there is blessed silence, and then-

“How’re you doing? Feeling better now? Maybe you’d like to come back on the Tardis-”

So it’s the Doctor. Now she has to get up because some idiot crashed into her bedroom. Yay.

“Get the hell out my bedroom, Doctor! I’m half-naked!” she yells, interrupting the Doctor’s babbling.

“Ten minutes, Amy. Then we’re going on an adventure,” he responds. “And if you don’t want to, I’ll steal half your socks again, and you’ll have to wear odd socks for the rest of the week.”

“That’s blackmail.”

“Oh well. Bye!”

“Fine, I’ll come with you,” she says.

“Ten minutes!” the Doctor says. Well, time to go on an adventure. Probably.

* * *

Amy walks into the Tardis, and it looks different. This room is bare, cold, no longer full of the odd knick-knacks and spare things that covered the console. And, judging from the torn jeans slung over one of the rails, somebody new is here. Who exactly it is she doesn’t know; they could be anyone.

“Amy!” the Doctor says, and he is _delighted_. He grins brightly, hugs her, and he seems overjoyed. But not in a ‘it’s so good to see you again’ way. More of a ‘nobody else was around for ages, I miss you’. He’s lonely, she realises, despite the newcomer.

“Have you met Clara yet?” the Doctor asks. “Judging from the look on your face, I’m guessing no.”

Someone else walks in - this must be Clara. She’s short, and oddly familiar-

“What the hell? Doctor, she’s _dead_. Oswin can’t be...” she trails off.

“Ah. Er. Well, I can explain-” the Doctor begins, only to be interrupted by Clara.

“Doctor, why is there a random woman on the Tardis? Also, do I look dead to you?” she says, looking at Amy with bemusement.

“Long story,” the Doctor says. “We can talk about this later. Cup of tea, anyone?”


	7. Nightmare

_He’s laughing. Amy can hear it, a cruel, mocking sound. She can see it in his eyes, too. He looks at Amy with pity, almost._

_“You must be so_ sad _, Amy. Do you miss me? Or are you just an emotionless robot?”_

_He’s grinning. This is not right. This is not him. Rory wouldn’t laugh at her -_

_“Clearly you don’t know me well, Amy. I thought you were married to me,” he says. Not Rory. She repeats that over and over in her head, hoping he’ll shut up.  
_

_“Don’t worry, I won’t miss you either,” he laughs. Amy wants to throw up. She forces herself to look at Rory - no, not Rory. This thing doesn’t deserve to be called ‘Rory’._

_This isn't Rory. Not Rory, not now. Not_ ever _._

_Wake up, Amy. Wake up. This is a nightmare. The real Rory would want you to wake up. This is a nightmare. You fool._

_Fake Rory grins at her discomfort. Wake up. This is a -_

_Nightmare._

* * *

Amy wakes up blearily, and stares at the clock on the wall without really seeing anything. She focuses, and sees that the time is 2:03. In the morning. The red numbers slowly burn themselves into her skull, and she looks away.

_Tap._

She flinches at the sudden noise. Is there someone there?

“You can come in, you know,” she says, voice hoarse. The door creaks for a moment, and then opens. She sees a short woman standing in the doorway, and looks at her in confusion, before remembering -

“Clara? What’re you doing here?”

Clara walks in quietly, as if scared. Apprehensive. “I wanted to find the toilet, but the Tardis is a maze, it made me go everywhere except where I was looking for...”

“The _Tardis_ did that? Seems kinda out of character.”

“No, it hates me,” Clara says. The frustration in her voice is evident.

“D’you wanna use my toilet? And stay here for the night, so you don’t get lost?” Amy asks.

“Are you sure?”

Amy laughs. “Of course.”

* * *

There’s a stranger in her bed. The woman twice dead, or so the Doctor says. Can’t trust everything the Doctor says, though. She’s rather pretty -

No. It’s not enough time. Not since Rory. What would he want? _He’d want me to be happy._

She shakes her head, and pulls the covers up. Time to go back to sleep.

Time to avoid nightmares.


End file.
